9 Benefits of working with a professional Interior Designer

 

Hiring an interior designer can be an intimidating process. I get it, you want a beautiful space, one that reflects who you are and gives you the killer rad vibe you’ve always dreamed up. The good news is, that’s exactly what good design will do. It up levels everything, including you. So whether you’re an artist, a musician, a writer, a graphic designer, or even a busy entrepreneur, hiring me will help you achieve a space that makes you better.

I hear it all the time, “I’m so much more productive in this space,” ” This space totally brought back my mojo,” and my personal favorite, ” I can’t believe how awesome I feel every time I walk in the room. I had no idea that color could change my life, literally.”

Personally, I love to push your comfort zone. Because to me that brings out the best you have to offer. So if you’re looking to write that next big novel, challenge a big case, or create your next masterpiece, nothing will inspire and motivate you more than a space that gets you.

 

 

You can avoid expensive mistakes by hiring a professional that instinctively understands your desire for the perfect interior. Someone that captures your personality and design sensibilities, better than you. Relax and let a well-orchestrated team work harmoniously to anticipate your needs and guide you through a complex project. –

Debbie Lee Evans on the art of interior design

Wow factor

Let’s face it, designers up level your space in a way you could never imagine. We are trained to think differently, and think out-of-the-box , So it’s no surprise that your home would be no different. I’m told all the time by homeowners they would never have thought to do this or that in their home.

I once had a client fight me for over a year on his backsplash. I wanted it to be candy apple red, which he thought was crazy. After wasting countless hours and effort looking for an alternative he succumbed to the idea (that by the way, his wife loved from the get go) and installed red tile. This was over 8 years ago and its the number thing in their home that everyone goes nuts over – even after 8 years its still the number one compliment they get. WOW factor is a designers greatest gift to homeowners.

Increases value of your home

It’s been proven time and time again that a well designed home, that’s painted well, has flow and beautiful interior design improves quality of life for its’ homeowners and increases resale value. Putting money back into your pocket! Ch-ching!

Boosts buyer appeal, giving you a faster return and puts more money in your pocket

A well designed home, that’s painted well, has flow and beautiful interior design increases resale value. No one wants a home that sits on the market. It can be frustrating, especially when a new chapter of your life is just around the corner! Designers are worth their wight in gold in helping you keep the process and smooth and easy.

Professional assessment, giving you a solid plan of action

Design has a process, and many homeowners either don’t know that order or put the cart before the horse. A designer is trained in the methodical steps of a project to keep you focused and on track. This helps you to focus on the fun things, rather than the tedious, monotonous details that often rob you of time and leave you frustrated.

Trained to see and optimize things that most homeowners miss

We do this all day long. More often than not, we’ve been here before with another project so we know exactly what your home needs for your lifestyle. We know where you need lights, plugs, plumbing, doors, windows and take it to the next level in ways you’ve probably never thought of.

Help you spend budget dollars more efficiently

There is nothing worse than investing valuable budget dollars into the wrong thing! Regret and frustration set in and steals the joy of your decisions. A home should be filled with happy memories, not “I hate this faucet, but it was so expensive so Im stuck with it.”

Saves you gobs of time and effort

As my business coach used to always tell me, “You don’t know, what you don’t know.” When you are new to anything there’s bound to be mistakes, unless you have the time to educate yourself on the process. Most people would rather spend time with their family, or doing more enjoyable things than learning the ins and outs of homebuilding and remodeling. A designer acts as your advocate to help speed up that process providing you a wealth of information on the spot that fits you and your lifestyle.

Knows exactly where to go and has resources at her fingertips

The internet is a wealth of information, but without the knowledge to understand it’s offerings yields it useless. Yes, everything is on the internet giving you plenty of easy to access resources, that are likely not the quality you had hoped for, the size you expected or completely wrong for your space. And if you have an issue? That customer service rep may or may not be helpful. Designers have resources, trades and vendors that they’ve often used for decades, so they know exactly who to call to get things taken care of quickly and frees you up to do more important things than handle boring logistics.

Case in point, we recently purchased items from a well-known retailer for a project. Twice the items came in damaged. Not only did we have to unbox and rebox them up, we had to get them to fedex. We were on the phone for a total of an hour and a half handling that one order of barstools. When the third shipment finally arrived six months had passed. This would never happen with a designers resources. They have established relationships with actual people to help get sh*t done in a timely manner so you can get to using and loving on your space. No one has time for that! It’s exasperating and frustrating!

Helps you avoid costly mistakes

Designers understand scale and proportion, and are trained to see what homeowners often don’t see or don’t even know about. This saves you from making costly mistakes. I hear it all the time from clients who purchased items that were the wrong size, or they regret purchases because they just weren’t right. Everything about a home is an investment, not only in product but in piece of mind. Our goal as a designer is to keep the joy in the process

“I cannot imagine doing my projects without Amanda. I see her as my guidance counselor for making dreams come true. Sure I can date a couch, but I’d rather be in love with my home and she is the best matchmaker around.”

Deborah Stillwell

Still not convinced? Here’s 19 more reasons to overload you on more reasons a professional can help….if you’re so inclined. But I’d stick with the top 9.

We think about the finished space long before its done

Designers are trained to visualize the finished product to better understand how you will truly live in that space. How will it be used, where will you spend the most time and what will you be doing there? These are processes we think about even before the space is built.

Privy to a lot of different information and information not available to the public

Designers wear many different hats. We have to have a general knowledge of codes, ergonomics, thousands of products, vendors, specifications and more. We even have access to lines not available to the public. Having a relationship with a designer gives you access to exclusive products and people giving you a collected, custom look that no one else has, thats unique to you.

Contacts to reliable trustworthy people

The number one issue homeowners face when starting a new project is who to hire. It can be daunting to try and find reliable, trustworthy people straight out of the phone book. I hear all the time the frustrations that people face just trying to get a phone call back, or to get people to show up! Designers have trusty resources that alleviate the headaches of trying to find good reliable people who you’d actually want in your home.

We see and know things immediately

We are on job sites all day long. We’ve installed hundreds of rooms, worked with thousands of vendors – we know when something is wrong and act as your advocate to fix it. We are your eyes and ears to give you the best damn experience and home possible.

We are problem solvers

We are trained to make decisions on the fly and come to solutions quickly due to years of experience. What could be a painstakingly long amount of time and sleepless nights for you can be resolved by a designer in a matter of minutes.

Projects will actually get done

It’s our job to keep all the moving parts, moving. Nothing is worse than starting a project and it comes to a screeching halt for XYZ reason. Or never even getting started. We ensure that the project stays on track and on budget, and gets done! Its easy to procrastinate. It takes a lot of time and energy to do a project so the excuses are quick to come by but a designer simplifies that process.

Leave the legwork to us

The whole point of hiring an interior designer is to simplify the process and make your life easier. I want you to enjoy the process and fall in love with your home. Handling endless details, logistics and things you aren’t accustomed to is exhausting, frustrating, and robs you of the joy. Sure plenty of people want the joy of saying they did it themselves, but is loosing a year of your life in a sea of paper, customer service reps and details worth it? A designer keeps your head above water, does all the leg work and all you have to do is make final decisions.

Exceptionally detail-oriented

Not only can designers see a space complete, way before it’s completed, but they are trained to consider form and function of an interior space; despite the fact that many people think its purely aesthetics. A well-designed space has it all.

We take your design preferences and know whats best for your space

Once we know your overall goals for the space we can not only achieve that, but up level the design making suggestions that are even better for its use, functionality and aesthetics.

Let's face it, you have better things to do

With a busy career, active social life, kids, kids itineraries, charity events, hobbies, holidays, monthly events, and various deadlines, you have better things to do than struggle with minute details that take you twice as long to do than a professional

We introduce you to the world of color

Designers know color, way beyond those safe creams, whites and grey that you keep buying. We combine color combinations that you can’t imagine go together, or even look good together! But alas, we mix, combine and mesh combinations that give you an extraordinary wow factor.

Get furniture right the first time

Designers know appropriate scale and size to fit YOUR room. We know the best shapes, styles and combinations. We also know how to manage the details: finish options, nail heads, casters, pillows, cushion type, tufting – and we are well versed in all of it to help you understand whats best for you and your family.

Education, insight and expertise from years of experience

A Designers experience is no joke, and neither is their expertise in knowing exactly what the problem is. Something an untrained eye doesn’t see, or know can be detrimental to your wallet. For example, I had a client want to remodel her kitchen to the tune of $75K. She hated the cabinets and was certain a new remodel would give her what she wanted. I disagreed. The cabinets weren’t the problem, the paint color was. But an untrained eye wouldn’t see that. I had her invest seven thousand dollars in new paint, and a new backsplash. A savings of $68,000, plus she loves her new kitchen……the one she always had:

before and after

We save you the energy bandwidth required to do a new home project yourself

Sure you can do the project. But an interior designers job is really only 15% creativity. 85% of what we do is project management and research. Do you really want to be doing the measuring, shopping, researching, ordering, project management, phone calls, emails, coordinating deliveries, and handling damages and other issues? 40% of all purchases come in damaged. Do you really want to wake up at 3am wondering if you purchased the right faucet finish, shipped the hardware back and remembered to take care of the sofa logistics?

We save you the energy bandwidth required to do a new home project yourself

Sure you can do the project. But an interior designers job is really only 15% creativity. 85% of what we do is project management and research. Do you really want to be doing the measuring, shopping, researching, ordering, project management, phone calls, emails, coordinating deliveries, and handling damages and other issues? 40% of all purchases come in damaged. Do you really want to wake up at 3am wondering if you purchased the right faucet finish, shipped the hardware back and remembered to take care of the sofa logistics?

Making dreams come true

Sounds totally cheesy, I know, but every time I do a reveal with a client, their new space makes them weak in the knees. They can’t believe they live there, because it truly is every thing they’ve ever dreamed of.

Make your space come alive

One of the greatest compliments I ever got from a client is that her colorful new space made her home come alive. It had a personality all it’s own that exceeded her expectations but more importantly made her happy beyond her imagination.

Amazing spaces impact the vibe of your home

Designers have an amazing spirit. They can see the ugliest of spaces and envision them at their best. Your home is unique, and when it’s designed in a way that infuses your personally, the things you love and your lifestyle – it immediately impacts the vibe and energy of that home – and everyone feels it!

Trained to see mistakes that a contractor or architect will often miss, because designers know how interiors are lived in and used

Contractors want to build your home, not pick paint colors or help you make a decision about lighting. Architects want to draw a cool space on paper. But designers are the ones who are in your space long after any trade has stepped foot in that space and we know how people live in their homes. We know immediately what your home lacks and what you’ll regret not having. I hate hearing from a person, “If I had it to do over again I wish we would have….” ARGH! A designer can help you avoid that.

Saves you time, money and headaches researching products, brands, and pricing

As I said above, designers know exactly where to go. And the cool thing is, most of us have a plethora of resources at our fingertips to help you find the things that take your home to the next level in a matter of minutes. Looking for a vent in your baseboard, a plug to go in your counter, or a special utility sink for your kids? We likely have a source and if we don’t, we have professional networks that can find things within hours rather than wasting days or even months looking for things. Hallelujah!

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